Today's Liberal News

“Call It Evil”: Philosopher Susan Neiman on Why Moral Clarity Matters in the Trump Era

We speak with moral philosopher Susan Neiman, author of the new book Call It Evil: Understanding the Trump Era. Neiman argues that evil — far from being an outdated religious concept — is a vital way to understand how injustice works in the world. The Trump administration’s abusive policies have been aided by a general reluctance to call them out as evil, part of how people are “brainwashed … by the idea that morality is for losers, suckers, fools,” she says.

The Greenland Fiasco Stumbles to an End

Jesper Møller Sørensen, the Danish ambassador to Washington, projected an air of calm. He was serving hors d’oeuvres, including reindeer sausage and smoked salmon, at his residence, where American, Danish, and Greenlandic guests had gathered for a Wednesday event billed as “A Taste of the Arctic.” On the terrace, he told me that months-long discussions about the future of Greenland were heading in a good direction. But, he warned, the outcome would depend on whether one person could be swayed.

Speak at Your Own Risk

On the first day of his second term in the White House, President Trump signed an executive order on free speech stating that his administration would ensure that “no Federal Government officer, employee, or agent engages in or facilitates any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.” He has gone on to violate that order many times.

Can the Never-Trump Coalition Last?

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
George F. Will joined The Washington Post when Richard Nixon was president, and he’s been espousing the same cerebral brand of conservatism twice a week ever since. His record doesn’t leave much room for surprise.

Researchers Say They’ve Found the Truth About Thomas Jefferson

Three hours after Thomas Jefferson died at his Monticello home on July 4, 1826, his personal secretary, Nicholas Trist, snipped a lock of the Founder’s gray hair, still faintly reddish blond. Trist then tied the hair with orange thread and placed it in a paper packet, along with a short note describing what he’d done.
In an era before photography or modern embalming, hair was an easily preserved reminder of a beloved friend or relative who’d died.

The Michael Kelly Award from The Atlantic is Awarded to Drew Philp for “There Will Be No Mercy” published in The Atavist Magazine

Drew Philp is the winner of the 23rd annual Michael Kelly Award, given by The Atlantic, for his investigative feature “There Will Be No Mercy,” published by The Atavist Magazine in 2025. Philp’s harrowing exposé of Ethiopia’s civil war serves as the definitive account of the two-year conflict, considered one of the deadliest of this century.
The award was announced this morning at The Atlantic Festival in New York City.

“We Are the 99%”: 15 Years Later, Occupy Wall Street’s Impact Is Still Being Felt

Fifteen years ago this week, thousands of activists marched on the Financial District in New York City. They formed the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park, launching a movement focused on economic inequality that spread across the nation and globe under the slogan, “We are the 99%.” Protesters would go on to sleep in Zuccotti Park for nearly two months before police raided the encampment.

“Inequality Emergency”: Ahead of U.N. General Assembly, Oxfam Urges Action on Climate, AI & Gaza

As world leaders prepare to head to New York for the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week, Democracy Now! speaks with Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International. “We live in a very different world from 1945,” when the U.N. was formed, says Behar. “You cannot continue with the veto power.” And with António Guterres soon stepping down, Behar stresses that the United Nations’ next secretary-general must be a woman — “a fundamental shift we need to make.